Retail News Blog

Woe is the market analyst who shoots from the hip. There is too much opportunity and rationale these days, or for that matter, at any time, for closer examination of the data, analysis, and conclusions set forth by appraisers reporting the decision-making processes of participants in the real estate market.
Who among us has not been [...]

Now that the reality of the credit market crisis, which really began in July 2007, has fully taken effect, 2009 has been a period of repositioning within the market.  Ironically, the repositioning will be a “return-to-the-old”.  Commercial real estate values are returning to the core fundamentals that always drove the market prior to the rise [...]

In a recent article by Bloomberg titled ‘Starbucks Pushing Landlords for 25% Cut in Cafe Rents‘ Starbucks is still trying to cut operating costs. Their business model is changing and they no longer can sustain paying outrageously high rents and still turn a healthy profit. When their profits dipped down 69%, they began laying as [...]

Do you think the collapse of the real estate market place is determinism (by design) or randomness (everything means nothing)? We can not deny that we have experienced a “bubble”. A bubble merely transfers a share of the future demand into the present. It’s linked with dramatic valuations and always debt funded. It is this [...]

The dislocation in the commercial real estate capital markets that exists today in the second quarter of 2009 has frustrated users of capital and left them feeling hopeless. The small universe of debt and equity providers that are willing and able to provide capital today want to advance less loan dollars on your deal while also taking on less risk. Most of the time that means that it’s a deal you cannot make. Thankfully, after successive quarters of bad news, most of us are past the denial stage and are making attempts to exist in a broken market. The leverage being offered by capital providers today would make sense if cap rates were closer to double digits, but unless and until that market correction happens, there will be further frustrations as both borrowers and lenders are fighting to preserve their equity and maintain returns seen earlier in the decade. The following are some survival tips that could help your deal:

Ask yourself this simple question:  What will the world look like for my children’s grandchildren?  This is not a question about politics or global warming. This is a question about the legacy we leave.
The real estate industry is responding quickly.  “Sustainability”, “LEED”, “carbon credits”, “cap and trade” are terms that are rapidly infiltrating our day [...]

How have the Capital markets affected lending for the manufactured home community industry?
The significant turmoil in the real estate capital markets has resulted in a considerable vacuum in financing opportunities for Manufactured Home Communities. Once a favorite of the now inactive CMBS/Conduit loan industry, the MHC asset class has become increasingly reliant on Fannie Mae, [...]

There were fewer sales in 2008 than seen in previous years. The reduced number of sales owes in some degree to the lack of credit available and the particular aversion to risk on behalf of lenders as well as investors in the current market. The uncertainty surrounding the ultimate fallout from the downturn in the [...]

A lot has changed in the past 12 months. A new president and a shift in the policies of Washington. The S&P fell 40% and then rebounded 25% in the last month. The Phillies win a world series; although the curse of the Billy Goat lives on in Chicago.
Unemployment has reached a level not seen [...]

How have the Capital markets affected lending for the self storage industry?
Like most other income property classes, with the exception of apartments, financing for self-storage properties has been hard hit with limited capital available in today’s market. Because of the management intensive nature of self-storage, lenders including banks and insurance companies who once were willing [...]

“I rarely have a conversation these days where the topic of financing doesn’t arise as a serious concern for my clients. When the economy is robust, and the capital markets are frothy, financing a commercial real estate transaction is a relatively simple matter. However during today’s recessionary times, the commercial capital markets are severely constrained. Not only is the supply of capital tight, but the demand may be near all time highs as well. Depending on which industry source you quote there is between $150 and $200 billion dollars of CMBS debt maturing in 2009 alone. This figure doesn’t include maturing loans from insurance companies, banks and other lenders, which means that many borrowers will be forced to secure financing in a market that presently offers little liquidity.” (”Getting your Property Financed” – Jackson Cooper, SVN – Boise, ID)

The tension was high at the special meeting called by the Colorado Banker’s Association in early December. The bankers were gathering to listen to Dr. Tom Hoenig, President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, discuss the current recession and to get his predictions on how long it will last. With the reputation of [...]

Many auto dealerships are going dark; over 21 in 2008 according to The Oregonian. In 2009 in the Portland Metro area alone we have seen some big names fall to darkness, most notably the Kuni Cadillac dealership that was located in Beaverton. For an auto dealership, the trade area expands beyond the immediate market area. [...]

PGP Valuation Inc is proud to bring you a Retail Newsletter for the first quarter of 2009. This four page newsletter talks about the economic market and its effects on the retail industry in the northwest and nationally.

W. Grant Noring, Jeff Grose, MAI & Steven L. Waugh presented today at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland Oregon at the CCIM meeting. Below is the presentation. A copy can be downloaded by going to the Publications section of this site or you can view the presentation by clicking on “Continue Reading” below.